PAGE 2
“The course gives the students the opportunity to be interactive and get involved in activities, which makes us more motivated”. (comment from a student)
Participants This year’s participants came from Europe (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal, Turkey), Africa (D.R. Congo, Ghana and Namibia), South East Asia (Indonesia, Myanmar) and the Western Pacific (China). A total of 16 young doctors participated in the course, with varied medical backgrounds, but all with a common interest in epilepsy. A number of Dutch fellows currently working at SEIN also participated in the course, either in full, or for selected topics. One of the Dutch students commented that she felt it was a highly informative course in which all aspects of epilepsy were presented in an interactive manner. Besides this, it was also a unique experience to hear from the participants what the (social) consequences are for people with epilepsy in other countries.
Speakers A number of renowned speakers were able to contribute their expertise and time to the programme. In total 28 national and 4 international speakers participated.
Programme
“In one word: Brilliant!” (comment from a student)
This year’s programme was grouped around the following themes: • Classification & Epidemiology and Prognosis • Diagnosis & Differential Diagnosis in Adults • Clinical Neurophysiology in Epilepsy and Syncope • EEG contribution to Epilepsy Classification & Pre-Surgical Workup • Imaging & Diagnostic Tools in Epilepsy • Epilepsy Surgery • Genetics & Epilepsy • Epilepsy Care: Experiences & Sharing Knowledge • Pharmacology & AED Treatment • Epilepsy in Children • Internet as an Information Tool • Educational Issues • How to Present Scientific Data • International Affairs and Remote Area’s The programme consisted of didactic sessions, interactive group discussions, workshops and site visits. Social activities included a welcome reception on the evening prior to the start of the course, a group outing (see page 5 for more details) and a closing dinner.
Rui (left) & Leyla (below)
A new topic was added to this year’s programme: Epilepsy Care in Student’s Own Countries. This was an interactive session inserted into the programme to stimulate the students to think about epilepsy care in their own settings, and how they could improve this. More details on this session are found on page 3. At the end of each day there were feedback sessions during which the students could discuss the topics that were covered during that day or any other issues which came up. The course also ended with a light-hearted multiple-choice quiz entitled “Who wants to be an epileptologist?”. Three prizes were awarded to the students with the highest scores:
Foster (left)
1st prize: 2nd prize: 3rd prize:
Rui Loureiro, Portugal (video camera) Leyla Baysal, Turkey (MP4 player) Foster Osei-Poku, Ghana (memory stick).